So many people have posted threads on how to and how not to Debadge their trucks and I read most of them. After reading many of the post (thanks brad12kx) I made sure to buy a stripe off wheel before I attempted it. I picked up a Stripe Eliminator Model E4000S (half the price of the 3m) from my local paint supply house and some Goo Gone. I grabbed some fishing line out of my tackle box and set off on Mod #6 on my month old truck.
Started with the fishing line to saw off the badges. After the first two I figured it wasn’t needed as I could bet my finger nails under it and just pop them off. Not exactly on there for life in my opinion.
Next I got out my Stripe Eliminator and off came the adhesive foam tape. It took a while, about 5 minutes per letter, and was frankly really mashing the adhesive around after it stripped off the foam. I got one side done and started on the next. Working on my 4th letter my arms were getting a little tired so I decided to take a break.
As I was sipping on a beer, I remembered what my father-in-law said when I told him what I was going to do. He told me that every truck he has had he debadged with a heat gun and a sanded paint stirring stick. He said that he simply heated up the badging or trim piece with the hair dryer or heat gun, then used a sanded to a point paint stirrer to slowly work the tape off. I decided to give it a shot while my noodle like arms rested from holding my 1/2 inch drill.
Holy Cow! The man knows what he is talking about! Three minutes later I had the first letter off. Another 3 minutes and the second was off. And there was no mess left over. A little spray of the Goo Gone, a 5 minute soak and an easy wipe away.
So any of you looking to Debadge and you don't want to spend $40 on a 3M wheel or $25 on a different brand wheel, try sanding down a scrap piece of pine!
Here are some pics. You can see the R & A were done with the paint stick and the M was done with the wheel.
Started with the fishing line to saw off the badges. After the first two I figured it wasn’t needed as I could bet my finger nails under it and just pop them off. Not exactly on there for life in my opinion.
Next I got out my Stripe Eliminator and off came the adhesive foam tape. It took a while, about 5 minutes per letter, and was frankly really mashing the adhesive around after it stripped off the foam. I got one side done and started on the next. Working on my 4th letter my arms were getting a little tired so I decided to take a break.
As I was sipping on a beer, I remembered what my father-in-law said when I told him what I was going to do. He told me that every truck he has had he debadged with a heat gun and a sanded paint stirring stick. He said that he simply heated up the badging or trim piece with the hair dryer or heat gun, then used a sanded to a point paint stirrer to slowly work the tape off. I decided to give it a shot while my noodle like arms rested from holding my 1/2 inch drill.
Holy Cow! The man knows what he is talking about! Three minutes later I had the first letter off. Another 3 minutes and the second was off. And there was no mess left over. A little spray of the Goo Gone, a 5 minute soak and an easy wipe away.
So any of you looking to Debadge and you don't want to spend $40 on a 3M wheel or $25 on a different brand wheel, try sanding down a scrap piece of pine!
Here are some pics. You can see the R & A were done with the paint stick and the M was done with the wheel.